Mediums · Pencil portraits
Pencil Portraits — Hand-Drawn in Graphite or Coloured Pencil From Your Photo
Pencil on archival paper comes in two forms: graphite, for a fine, precise tonal drawing, and coloured pencil, for detailed colour with a drawn quality — both from your photo, both shipped flat ready to frame behind glass.
- Surface
- Heavyweight archival drawing paper
- Medium
- Graphite, or lightfast coloured pencil
- Finish
- Fixed; framed behind glass at destination
- Look
- Fine, precise, drawn — the most detailed of the paper mediums
- Ships
- Flat, between boards
Pencil is the most precise medium we offer. A graphite portrait is a fine tonal drawing built from thousands of small marks, with the paper as the light; a coloured-pencil portrait adds lightfast colour with the same drawn precision. Both are on heavyweight archival paper, fixed, and shipped flat to be framed behind glass.
Graphite
Graphite suits faces, horses and any subject with clear structure, and it is the natural choice when the reference is a black-and-white photograph. It reaches a level of detail close to a Hyperreal painting — individual hairs, the texture of an iris — because a pencil point is finer than any brush.
Coloured pencil
Coloured pencil is for subjects whose colour matters but where a drawn quality is wanted: a tabby’s stripes, a parrot’s plumage, a child’s portrait for a nursery. Layered lightfast pencils give surprisingly deep colour; it takes longer than graphite and is priced accordingly.
Framing, shipping and price
Shipped flat between rigid boards; frame behind glass, out of direct sun. Priced by size, number of subjects and medium at a single level of finish. Trade buyers order pencil portraits from one piece at trade pricing.
Pencil portraits: recent work
Full portfolio →
Proof of hand
Real paint, real brushstrokes
Every piece is completed by one painter from start to finish — no assembly line. Below: a close-up crop of a finished painting, and a painter at work. Every image on this site is a photograph of real hand-painted work.
Pencil portraits FAQ
Graphite or coloured pencil?
Graphite for a classic tonal drawing — a face, a horse, a black-and-white photograph. Coloured pencil when the colour matters but you want a drawn rather than painted quality — a tabby cat, a parrot, a child's portrait.
How detailed can pencil go?
Very. Pencil is the most precise of the paper mediums, and a graphite or coloured-pencil portrait can reach hair-by-hair detail. It takes correspondingly longer.
How is pencil priced?
By size, number of subjects and medium at a single level of finish; coloured pencil takes longer than graphite and is priced accordingly.
Can I order a single piece at trade pricing for a client?
Yes. Trade pricing starts from a single piece, and a project — a series for one interior, or a standing monthly order — is quoted the same way. Request the trade price list from the trade page.
Ask about a pencil portraits portrait
Send a photo and a few details. We reply with a quote and tell you honestly whether the photo will work.
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